San Diego holds on for road win over NOLA

photo credit: Craig Boudreaux / NOLA Gold Rugby

Recap

The San Diego Legion held off a desperate NOLA Gold in the final minutes to secure an important 26-19 victory at Gold Stadium on Saturday. A 70th-minute try from Tai Enosa proved the winner as the Legion took the first meeting between the top two sides to slip into first overall.

First blood went to the visitors. From an attacking scrum on the left side, JP du Plessis charged ahead and then Jordan Manihera was stopped just inches short. Joe Pietersen’s pass missed its target but Save Totovosau was there to scoop it up, standing up Scott Gale with a shimmy to cross for the try.

NOLA returned fire, a trend that would continue until the last moments of the match. Gale nearly slipped through himself as the Gold attacked off a lineout. Cam Dolan spotted the post defense cheating and didn’t need a second invitation, picking through the opening and sliding over to draw the scores level.

Next it was San Diego’s turn, with Mike Te’o holding the outside defense long enough to put Nick Boyer into the corner. Like clockwork New Orleans responded. A huge counter from JP Eloff set the stage, and Eric Howard connected with Dolan. The big eightman drew in two cover defenders and offloaded to Tristan Blewett to leave it dead even at the intermission.

A no-look pass from Nate Augspurger put du Plessis over just two minutes into the second half. Blewett erased the score with a terrific finish on a long kick-ahead from Nick Feakes. A wicked bounce eluded Will Holder and Blewett turned Boyer inside-out to dive in under the sticks.

Enosa’s moment came with the defense tiring. The veteran playmaker had replaced an injured Pietersen and filled the role to perfection. As Ignacio Dotti drifted across, nobody filled the inside gap and a hard step off the left was all it took for Enosa to beat the second row and speed through for the game winner.

 

SCORING

NEW ORLEANS 19
Tries – C. Dolan (17’), T. Blewett 2 (35’, 54’)
Cons – J. Eloff 0/1, S. Gale 2/2 (36’, 55’)

SAN DIEGO 26
Tries – S. Totovosau (7’), N. Boyer (27’), J. du Plessis (42’), T. Enosa (70’)
Cons – J. Pietersen 2/3 (28’, 43’), W. Holder 1/1 (71’)

 

TEAMS

NOLA GOLD
1 Hubert Buydens (18 Kevin Sullivan 44’), 2 Eric Howard (capt.) (16 Kavika Peniata 66’), 3 Matt Harmon (17 Cam Falcon 55’), 4 Kane Thompson (19 Billy Stewart 55’), 5 Nikola Bursic (20 Moni Tonga’uiha 49’), 6 Ignacio Dotti, 7 Zack Stryffeler (21 Kevin O’Connor 72’), 8 Cam Dolan, 9 Holden Yungert, 10 Scott Gale, 11 Nick Feakes, 12 Con Foley, 13 Tristan Blewett (22 Michael Baska 58’), 14 Tim Maupin, 15 JP Eloff (23 Joeli Tikoisuva 36’)

SAN DIEGO LEGION
1 Faka’osi Pifeleti (17 Nathan Sylvia HT), 2 Kapeli Pifeleti (16 Pat Blair 60’), 3 Paddy Ryan (18 Dino Waldren 61’), 4 Louis Stanfill (20 Drew Gaffney HT), 5 Keni Nasoqeqe, 6 Psalm Wooching, 7 Jasa Veremalua, 8 Jordan Manihera (19 Siaosi Mahoni 68’), 9 Nate Augspurger, 10 Joe Pietersen (capt.) (21 Tai Enosa 46’), 11 Save Totovosau (22 Will Holder HT), 12 Conor Kearns, 13 JP du Plessis, 14 Nick Boyer, 15 Mike Te’o

Not used: 23 Nick Lupian

 

Result

TeamTCPDBPPoints
NOLA Gold3200119
San Diego Legion4300126

NOLA Gold

1Hubert Buydens 18 Loosehead Prop
2Eric Howard 16 Hooker
3Matt Harmon 17 Tighthead Prop
4Kane Thompson 19 Left Lock
5Nikola Bursic 20 Right Lock
6Ignacio Dotti Blindside Flanker
7Zack Stryffeler 21 Openside Flanker
8Cam Dolan Number Eight
9Holden Yungert Scrumhalf
10Scott Gale Flyhalf
11Nick Feakes Left Wing
12Con Foley Inside Center
13Tristan Blewett 22 Outside Center
14Tim Maupin Right Wing
15JP Eloff 23 Fullback
16Kavika Peniata 2 Loosehead Prop
17Cam Falcon 3 Hooker
18Kevin Sullivan 1 Tighthead Prop
19Billy Stewart 4 Right Lock
20Moni Tonga’uiha 5 Blindside Flanker
21Kevin O’Connor 7 Openside Flanker
22Michael Baska 13 Left Wing
23Joeli Tikoisuva 15 Inside Center

San Diego Legion

1Faka’osi Pifeleti 17 Loosehead Prop
2Kapeli Pifeleti 16 Hooker
3Paddy Ryan 18 Tighthead Prop
4Louis Stanfill 20 Left Lock
5Keni Nasoqeqe Right Lock
6Psalm Wooching Openside Flanker
7Jasa Veremalua Blindside Flanker
8Jordan Manihera 19 Number Eight
9Nate Augspurger Scrumhalf
10Joe Pietersen 21 Flyhalf
11Save Totovosau 22 Right Wing
12Conor Kearns Inside Center
13JP du Plessis Outside Center
14Nick Boyer Left Wing
15Mike Te’o Fullback
16Pat Blair 2 Hooker
17Nathan Sylvia 1 Loosehead Prop
18Dino Waldren 3 Tighthead Prop
19Siaosi Mahoni 8 Right Lock
20Drew Gaffney 4 Openside Flanker
21Tai Enosa 10 Flyhalf
22Will Holder 11 Fullback
23Nick Lupian Outside Center

Officials

Referee
Elgan Williams (Wales)
Assistant Referee 1
Lex Weiner (USA)
Assistant Referee 2
Allen Alongi (USA)

Details

Date Time League Season
May 11, 2019 3:00 pm Major League Rugby 2019

Venue

Archbishop Shaw Stadium
Walkertown, Marrero, Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, 70073, United States of America

Video

Bristol Bears Sign Puma Pedro Rubiolo

The Bristol Bears have completed the signing of Pedro Rubiolo. The English Premiership club will be the new home of Pedro Rubiolo who is playing his second season for the Newcastle Falcons. Rubiolo will join the Bristol Bears on a three-year-deal beginning in mid 2025. The 21-year-old Rubiolo is one …

Read More »